2012 X-Plus Vinyl Figures Discussion Thread

[leunames]

the x-plus biollante, imo, is the greatest figure of the character ever made. never was too big of a fan of marmit's offerings (even their "giant" biollante is only in 8" scale, and the mouth is way too exaggerated for my tastes in terms of proportion relative to the rest of the figure) and the bandai figure, while interesting, was too small and the face never really had that kind of menacing "glare" that biollante had.

that being said...44,000 yen at today's rate is a killer, esp. considering it was available for 35,000 yen last year when it came out.

[Planetxman]

I'd love to own that Biollante but I cannot afford it really. Not many can. Although I have spent more than $600 on a figure many times, it was for a Vintage toy. That Biollante is just such a superb sculpt, who wouldn't want one ?!
People wonder why dealers don't carry items like that at G Fest and it all comes down to cost. Think about it for a minute. It would cost someone about $600 to get it shipped here, so then how much can you make off of it ? 30% would be $780.
It is just not feasible for dealers to carry items like that.

[Captain Aktion]

^Understandable. Perhaps they could look into doing something like opening a room on the third day for public sell/swap? I know as a paying dealer, this wouldn't necessarily be so great for you on the surface, but if it were for a limited amount of time and on the final day, maybe it wouldn't cut into the dealers as much. I'm sure space is at a premium, but I'm also sure there's a lot of con-goers who wouldn't mind being able to easily conduct swaps and, say, single figure sales. Just a thought.

[ZillaMaster91]

Titanosaurus is up for reservation on Hobby Search. http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10190927

I have mixed feelings about the sculpt though, but most likely I'll end up buying the figure.

[Legion1979]

Why...why is the tongue sticking out that far?

[Planetxman]

I think it looks pretty kick ass !! Tongue or not.

[Orgasmatron]

i think it looks good with the tongue honestly!!

[ZillaMaster91]

^ Same here man. As I recall, the 6" Bandai figure also had its tongue sticking out a wee bit in its sculpt.
I reserved myself one earlier, I can't wait. It's the fourth 30cm X-Plus figure that I bought in the last two months.... I think I got a problem! XD

[darkcancer]

The bottom left shot kind of hides one of Titanosaurus' antennae, making him seem like a unicorn haha. Overall, its a pretty nice figure.

[Planetxman]

X Plus Manda photos courtesy of David Eric Dopko



EXCELLENT !!!

[ZillaMaster91]

^ Ha, that is very well done.

Truth be told, if I saw that in person, and did not immediately realize that it was Manda, I'd be totally freaked out. XD

... I got a phobia of snakes.

[GIGAN05]

Those photos look legit XD. Manda really does make a convincing snake like that.

[Brad Simmons]

Liking the Titanosaurus, my only gripe if I were to be ultra-picky, is that the X-Plus sculpts seem to lack a little bit of "character". Meaning, I would love to see some of them in an action pose vs. just a straight up and down representation all the time. Varan was a missed opportunity for sure IMO.

[ZillaMaster91]

^ I kind of agree with you. I was expecting Titanosaurus to be in a more distinctive pose, but nonetheless it is still a great sculpt, and one I will not regret buying in the long run.

[Brad Simmons]

but nonetheless it is still a great sculpt, and one I will not regret buying in the long run.

Agreed!

[ebirahsmeg1]

Ugh, what a terrible sculpt. A lot of money for a whole lot of ugly. Unlike here, this thing is getting torn to shreds by collectors on the CT forums, and I have to tend to agree with them. *VERY* disappointing overall, but sadly not too surprising, as Xplus just seems to drop the ball more often than not. What's with the ridiculous long tongue hanging from its mouth? Will people try to say "oh, his tongue sometimes looked like that from the films" like they recently did when laughably defending the very flawed showa MG figures? It's amazing how some try to overlook/ignore/deny some of the major problems/issues that consistently pop up with many Xplus figures, which has to be one of the most frustrating lines ever, as the great potential of this line is often squandered.

And the tongue is far from the only problems with the figure:

• The legs look very strange as well (as several pointed out on CT, it almost looks as if in the middle of sculpting it, they realized he wasn't tall enough, so they added a segment to each ankle to increase the height).
• Is it just me, or does his head look a tad bit on the small side?
• What is up with the antennae? Just looks "off" from the actual suit.

Of course, this figure will look better once it's painted, but even a nice paint job cannot fully hide or fix these issues. For those who boldly claim that an Xplus showa KG figure will "automatically put to shame all KG figures before it", I find that highly doubtful with Xplus' very spotty track record.

Perhaps their 25 inch figure down the road will be an improvement (i.e. their excellent 25 inch Gigan being a recent example). Until that day happens, however, I think that both the Bandai and Marmit MH (yes, the dreaded stylized figure line than many thumb their noses at and dismiss) are more accurate representations of Titanosaurus than this thing...

[GCrusher]

In regard to "ebirahsmwg1"
I don't think X-Plus, as you say, drops the ball more often than not and has a very spotty track record. When you say a cartoony Marmit or Bandai figure with snap-on puffy comical arms and legs looks more detailed and realistic than this unfinished X-Plus surprises me because I've seen them and own one and while they are nice figures, it's obvious to me they lack the detail that this X-Plus figure has. For example, my opinion is that the Bandai figure is too robust and jovial looking. I think it's accurate, but not too detailed.
In my opinion X-Plus makes collectibles, Bandai makes toys. No comparison.

[ZillaMaster91]

^ I couldn't agree with you more. I find this sculpt a far more accurate version of Titanosaurus than anything we've seen in the past from Bandai or Marmit and indeed, there is no comparison as you say GCrusher. The only nitpick for me are the antennae. Other than that, there doesn't seem to me much wrong with it.

Why judge the prototype as if it's the final product?

[Brad Simmons]

Well, one's person's opinion or several for that matter doesn't make it so. It's just that, an opinion. I would rather have this Titanosaurus than anything else I've seen, except possibly a resin kit built and painted professionally. I Googled the Bandai and Marmit Titanosauruses and if you really feel those are more screen accurate than the X-Plus prototype, I'm just a big "Wow!" to that comment.

[GCrusher]

^ I couldn't agree with you more. I find this sculpt a far more accurate version of Titanosaurus than anything we've seen in the past from Bandai or Marmit and indeed, there is no comparison as you say GCrusher. The only nitpick for me are the antennae. Other than that, there doesn't seem to me much wrong with it.

Why judge the prototype as if it's the final product?

I agree that the antennae may be a little off, thick, but that may be due to the fact that if thinner the risk would be them breaking off more easily. Though I disagree with the comment about the small head size. The X-Plus Titanosaurus head only looks small when compared to the too large cartoony head on the Bandai. So I can see where that comment might come from.
I think one challenge with people in general is that they feel they need to choose sides or for that matter say something when there doesn't necessarily need to be a side to be chosen or something to be said. Maybe we're forced to choose a democrat or a republican, but we can like any kajui offering by any company. Too many of us get sucked in to bashing one company or another, or defending another. It's easy to see / read when we do this because we speak in absolute terms and make generalizations.
I think the Bandai and Marmit Titanosaurus figures are nice looking and accurate, but both sculpts lack the detail of the X-Plus.
And by the way, anyone that thinks the tongue is too big in the X-Plus sculpt should watch the movie again. In the scene where they reflect back to the accident when Katsura gets electicuted, theres a diagram of Titanosaurus on the wall with his big ol tongue sticking out. And it looks just like the X-Plus sculpt.